Gas-mask



W. C. GEER.

GAS MASK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23, 1919.

Patented Jan. 4, 1921.

William 6. Gear ymw filly.

u UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ILLIAM QI'GEER, or AKRoN, 01110, ASSIGNOB r0 THE B. F. GOODRICH COMPANY,

OF NEW YoRK, N; Y., a CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ayof Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Gas-Masks, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to respirator masks for protecting the wearerlseyes and breathing organs against fumes, gases, smoke and othercontaminations of the atmosphere, and

'its general objects are to improve the sealing properties of the maskaround the edges thereof, to provide a better mode of ventilating theeye-pieces, to minimize the amount of dead air space, reduce the weightand cost and increase the comfort of wearing the mask.

. Of the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a sideelevation, partly broken away, showing a preferredform of my improved mask. 1

' Fig. 2 is a rear elevation thereof with the head-covering portionpartly laid open at the bac'k. Fig. 3 is-a section on the line 3'.-3 ofFig. 2.

' Fig. 1 is a section on the line 1- 1 of Fig. 2; i

Inthe drawings, 10 is a face cover made pf any'SuitabIeimperviousyfiexible material such as sheet rubber molded and vulcanizedon a form and preferably having the usual outer covering of stockinetindicated by the shading in Fig. 1-. 11, 11 are thetransparenteye-pieces or windows therein, and 12 is an opening in front of thewearers mouth leading to the atmosphere through asuitable check-valveorexhaling valve 13 -inclosed in a metal caslng 14. A common, practicehere-.

tofore has been to provide a cast metal fitting formed with both an airinlet and an air outlet, said inlet branching upwardly through a pair offlexible or other clarifying tubes to .the spaces back of theeye-pieces, so that the air which isbreathed in through the filter byway of the air-inlet passage will avoid or remove the condensation ofGAS-MASK.

Specification of Letters Patent. 1

C. GEEK, .a

I Patented Jan. 4, 1921. Application filed January 23, 1919. Serial No.272,618

of the air outlet structure and making a joint with the face covering ata point closely adjacent to and preferably between and slightly abovethe middle of the eyepieces, from which point it may lead in an anteriordirection to one side of the face covering (to which side it may also beattached) .where it is adapted for connection with a pipe leading overthe wearers shoulder to a filter strapped on his back, but this upward,lateral, rearwardly-leading disposition of the anterior part of theinlet pipe, as well as other details, may be varied or omitted. Theanterior section of the air inlet pipe having this construction and ar-"tion as being a well-known feature. It will be observed that a flexiblepipe having this disposition allows the mask to be worn with increasedcomfort, provldes a lighter, more compact and less expensiveconstruction than heretofore, and permitsa reduction in the size of thedead air space within the mask, since the interior portion of the a rpassage may be reduced to a minimum. This interior portion 1s formed bythe part of the face cover 10 between and above the eye-pieces 11 as itsfront wall, while its rear wall is constituted by aflexible piece 17 ofsheet material such as 'soft rubber having its edges secured to the facecover except along two arcs of the eye-pieces 11, where apair ofslit-like openings 18 impinge upon the rear surfaces of the glasses, thse openings forming the clarifying or anti-fogging air inlets to theinterior of the mask. 'The joint between the face cover 10 andthefiexible pipe 15-is preferably a flexible, cemented and vulcanizedjoint formed around the mouth of said pipe.

The upper margin 19 of the face cover 10 embracing the wearers foreheadserves toseal the. breathing space of the mask at the upper end thereof,and the rest of said space is sealed by the rear margin 20 of said facecover, passing down along the cheeks in.

front of the ears and under the-chin. Formerly the straps or harnessattached to these margins, and the construction of the marginsthemselves, especially at the cheeks and temples, has been such thatthese margins as a. whole would not effectively sealthe breathing space,owing largely to the nonconforming character of the margins in relationto the usual flat or hollow portions of the face, and the tendency toproduce buckling of some portion or portions of,./said marglns owing tothe direction of pull of the head'straps.

' For improving the sealing, I have shown two expedients which mayadvantageously be used cooperatively in combination as shown, althougheither may be employed separatelv without departing from the scope 1 ofmy invention.

'ginal member of the ordinary construction,

even though such member may be thickened or beaded. To produce suchperpendicular inward pressure as the resultant of longitudinal pullexerted on the marginal portion or portions of the mask Iprovide/suitabl e pads 21- located principally in the rear marginalportion 20 but also partly in themargin 19- in theregions of thetemples.

These pads may be'of'any suitable construction, but are preferablyhollow as shown,

. their inner walls being convexly molded in also preferably longest? ina the main rubber'member of the mask and covered with substantiallyflush vulcanized, soft-rubber straight pull on the margins. The pads arevertical direction as indicated.

The other sealing expedient consists in I theus'e of a pair of elastic,flexible, harness straps such as 23, 24 which pass respectively I overthe top and around the back. of the wearers head from opposite points onthe mask in the region ofthe temples, and hence exert their pull upontherear'and upper edges of the face cover--10 in directions substantiallyat rightangles. there is no resultant longitudinal force on pieces '22for transmitting the substantially Consequently either margin 19 or 20tending to causeibuc I kling ofsaid margin, and the scaling is improved.These straps act both individually and cooperatively upon said marginsand "the pads 21 to produce the describedperpendicular sealin'g'pressure of said pads against the hollows of the face. A thirdstabilizing andfweight-sustaining strap 25 is preferably provided,passing from front to rear over the wearers head to connect the middleportionsof the forehead-embracing margin 19 and of the straps 23, 24,all these members being permissibly made of soft vulcanized rubber inone piece with the main member of the face cover. The open spaces may besultably filled m, as with stockinet 26, so that the entire topstructure forms a hat, and in order thatsome adjustment may be made .forsize, I- prefer to divide the rearportions of the "straps 21 and 25111 amedian vertical plane and provide eyelets 27 and a lacing 28 to connectthe divided edges.

I claim: I 1. A gas mask comprising an impervious face cover. having atop flexible margin adapted to embrace the 'wearers forehead anda rearflexible margin adapted to embrace the cheeks and chm, a strapconnecting the temporal portions of said i face cover around the back ofthe head and adapted to exert a longitudinal pull on the first men;

tioned margin, and another strap connecting .said' temporal portionsover the top of the head and adapted to. exert-a longitudinal pull onthe second mentioned margin and a,

pair of inwardly convex sealing pads incorporated-in .said margins inthe region ofthe temples. the inner surfaces of said pads being integralwith the: inner surface of said face cover;

2 A gas mask comprising a face cover having a flexible top, foreheadembracing margin and 'a flexible rear face embracing marginsubstantially at right angles thereto, head straps lying approximatelyin extension of said margins; a pair of inwardly convex sealing padsincorporated in said margins at the temples, and a flexible, external Kerally across the temple and'forehead ofsaid air inlet pipe extendingforwardly and latface cover and attached thereto. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 20 da of J anuar1919. 1 I ILLIAM GEER.

